One-handed oar for fishermen



June 19, 1962 L. POWELL ETAL ONE-HANDED OAR FOR FISHERMEN Filed July 27; 1960 IN VEN TORS Lebem Powell Ernest 7. Mar/on BY mg,

3,039,120 ONE-HANDED OAR FOR FISHERMEN Lebern Powell, 113 Seitz St, and Ernest T. Morton, Rte. 4, both of McMiunville, Tenn. Filed July 27, 1960, Ser. No. 45,686 4- Claims. (Cl. 9-24) The present invention relates to oars and paddles, generally speaking, and has reference, more particularly, to an oar or paddle which may be aptly and satisfactorily employed by a fisherman in such a manner that he may resort to one-handed movement of an occupied boat while, at the same time, fly fishing with the other hand.

An ordinary boat-rowing or propelling oar, alternatively a paddle, comprises a'blade the upper end of which merges into and joins with a relatively long stout shaft which, in most instances, is provided at an upper end thereof with a handle or hand-grip. Although a conventional oar does not lend itself to satisfactory onehanded use when fly fishing from a boat, many fishermen nevertheless attempt, quite awkwardly and inconveniently, to use the oar in a makeshift manner. If the weather, water and other conditions are just right, one-handed use of a regular oar can be tolerated, at least for a short time and. for a short distance moving.

Having been repeatedly confronted with the difiiculties above touched upon it was obvious that there has long existed a need for a special purpose temporarily usable oar expressly constructed and designed that it may be successfully adapted to one handed short-distance boat moving needs. It follows that an obvious object in the instant matter is to offer to provide fishermen with a simple, practical and easy-to-use one-handed boat paddling and moving oar.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the instant invention the paddling blade remains much the same as the conventional type blade. It follows that the improvement resides in the portion of the over-all oar commonly referred to as the shaft. The shaft in the instant matter is constructed to provide several advantageously usable improvements, that is, improvements which permit the desired thrust and stroking of the blade to be had and yet are such that the oar may be sensitively controlled, the desired leverage insured, and the fishermans wrist relieved of quick-weakening difficulties and tiring strain ordinarily encountered.

Another object of the invention is in reference to the shaft. More particularly, this shaft joins the upper gradually narrowing end of the blade proper and merges into a widened portion constituting a rigidifying frame, and the upper end of the frame having a short stubby extension the underneath side of which is grooved, said eX- tension defining a forearm brace to be hereinafter more specifically touched upon.

Then, too, the stated frame is novel in that it is provided centrally with a cross-piece which defines a handgrip whose axis is at right angles to the axis of the overall oar and, in addition, upper and lower openings, the lower opening to accommodate the fingers of the hand which wrap around the hand-grip, the upper opening serving to permit passage of the hand and a portion of the wrist, the latter opening being sufficiently large that it allows the oar to be shifted up on the arm close to the elbow, whereby to allow said oar to be hung or suspended from the arm and freeing the hand and yet retaining the oar in a ready-to-use position in what is believed to be an obvious manner.

Construed otherwise, the inventive concept, attention being focused on the novel shaft, has to do with a handgrip on the median portion of the shaft at right angles to the lengthwise axis of the shaft, and the aforementioned forearm brace which bridges the wrist and dis- 3,039,120 Patented June 19, 1962 tributes and equalizes stress and strain and transfers the pull and thrust action on the blade to the forearm, thus stabilizing the wrist for prolonged untiring use.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a fragmentary portion of a rowboat or the like and illustrating the improved oar or paddle in perspective and showing the use and position thereof when moving the oar and executing the thrust desired for forward movement of the boat.

FIG. 2 is a view on a smaller scale and showing the oar and how it is slipped up on the arm adjacent to the elbow to be suspended or carried in an out-of-theway position and freeing both hands for landing a fish.

FIG. 3 is an elevational or plan view showing the underneath or rearward side of the over-all oar.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section on the line 44 of FIG. 3 and on a slightly enlarged scale.

With reference in particular to FIG. 3, and as before mentioned, it will be observed that the paddle or blade portion of the improved oar or paddle generally referred to by the reference numeral 4 is not unusual. In fact, it may be said to be substantially conventional. The paddle 4 comprising a one-piece substantially planar elongated body generally referred to by the numeral 5 of which the blade portion 6 comprises one part thereof. The upper portion of the blade portion 6 (upper according to the views of the drawings) is gradually decreased in width and is fashioned into a reduced neck 8 which constitutes one of the component parts of the over-all shaft. The normal or regular shaft would be a stout type generally circular in cross-section. Here the cross-section of the part 8 is non-circular or rectangular. The upper end portion of the shaft denoted at 10 is comparatively wide as illustrated for example in FIG. 1 and this constitutes the aforementioned rest or forearm brace. This brace is also of the non circular or substantially rectangular cross-section seen in FIG. 4 and the underneath or rear side is grooved to provide an open-ended groove or channel 12 which conformably fits against the top of the forearm in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1 and which assists in giving the oarsman satisfactory and complete c trol of the improved oar. The intermediate portion f the shaft is provided with a transverse or right angularly disposed hand-grip. More specifically, in carrying out this idea the shaft is widened and flattened so that it is substantially rectangular in cross-section and this portion may be conveniently described as a hand-hold or frame, said frame denoted as an entity by the numeral 14. BY forming a relatively large opening in the upper part of the frame as at 16 and an ovate smaller opening 18 in the bottom, the intervening portion constitutes a crosspiece 20 which, more specifically, is employed as a handgrip and utilized in the manner shown in FIG. 1. If desired, the underneath marginal edges of the openings may be chamfered or beveled as at 22 and 24. The hand-grip and also the holes or openings will, of course, vary in construction and size to accommodate hands and arms of small, median and large proportions. For a broad ha d, for example, the hand-grip 20 should be such as to permit the fingers to be wrapped around the same while insuring a comforting hold or grip. The opening 16 permits forward passage from the rear side of the frame whereupon the hand with the knuckles facing forwardly grasps the grip 20, clearance for the fingers being by way of and through the opening or hole 24. The upper edge of the opening 20 provides a sort of a fulcrum and allows the brace to swing forwardly and rearwardly against the users wrist and forearm in a seemingly obvious manner. In other Words, one does not attempt to clamp the brace against the arm and hold it there. A certain amount of freedom of the hand is necessary to take a new grip and change the tension on the fingers and forearm of the hand. As a matter of fact, the forward and rearward stroking of the oar while the same is being maneuvered, feathered or otherwise handled is such that each user will soon adapt himself to the best mode of use depending on the Weather, water, size of the boat and so on.

Experimental adoption and use of the paddle or oar herein shown and described had proved that it is simple, practical, economical and is designed and adapted to serve the purposes for which it is intended to be used.

A glance at FIGS. 1 and 2 shows the down usable position and the up suspended or carrying position whereby to enable the reader to fully grasp the underlying principles of construction and use of the invention.

The restricted portion 8, when grasped with one hand and the brace 10, when simultaneously grasped with the one hand (not shown) permits two-handed use of the unique car.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A one-handled oar for fishermen comprising a one piece substantially planar and straight panel-like elongated body having a blade portion on one end and an arm brace portion on the other end, said blade and arm brace portion being interconnected by means of an intermediate panel-like hand hold portion of said one-piece body, said blade portion having a greater width than thickness and said hand hold portion of said body also being of greater width than thickness and having a pair of longitudinally spaced openings formed therein se arated by means of an integral transversely extending cross piece disposed in a plane generally coincidental with the medial plane of said hand hold portion, said brace portion also being of greater width than thickness and adapted to have one side face thereof disposed in surface to surface abutting relation with the outer surface of a fishermans forearm whose hand is encircled about said cross piece with the wrist of the fisherman extending through the opening adjacent said brace portion and the free ends of the fingers of the fisherman disposed through the other opening.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said blade portion includes a Wide free end portion and an end portion adjacent said hand hold portion which is more narrow in width than said free end portion and said hand hold portion.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one side face is transversely concaved to form a longitudinally extending shallow groove and is substantially greater in longitudinal extent than in width.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said groove extends into said hand hold portion and to said opening adjacent said brace portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,188,343 Flournoy Jan. 30, 1940 2,745,119 Whipple May 15, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 342,832 Italy Aug. 22, 1936 

